Rachel A. Letteri

Rachel A. Letteri is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science. Her research focuses on engineering materials combining polymers and peptides for medical and engineering applications.

Education: B.S. in Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering (Notre Dame), Ph.D. in Polymer Science & Engineering (UMass Amherst), postdoctoral research at Texas A&M University.

Research interests: Polymer synthesis and characterization, peptide binding and assembly, biomaterials, and therapeutic peptide delivery. The Letteri Lab specializes in stereochemistry-driven interactions and stimuli-responsive materials.

Awards: NSF CAREER Award (2022), RSC Biomaterials Science Emerging Investigators recognition (2021), Thomas E. Hutchinson Award for teaching excellence (2019).